Stealing a Kitsune's Gaze
by NeverSaidTwice
Summary: After the night she had, waking up in a hospital bed didn't surprise her. Waking with Naruto Uzumaki, a character from her well read manga collection, asleep at her bedside... now that scared her. O.o.O.o Dark themes, Explicit content, triggers. o.O.o.O
1. Prologue

-PROLOGUE-

Naruto itched at his bandaged prosthetic arm as he stared out the horizon squinting. It was late afternoon, and the sun was slowly disappearing, filling the sky with crimson and the clouds hazing with soft oranges and pinks.  
The destroyed ruins of the Valley of the End laid before him as he sat on the cliff where the stone statue of Hashirama, the First Hokage, once stood. It was a good place for him to think, far from Konoha, and with the war over it was safe and peaceful.

It had been three weeks since that day, three weeks, two days and 13 hours since he awoke here laying next to his best friend, both of them utterly beaten with each sporting missing limbs.

 _Sasuke..._ Sasuke Uchiha.

His best friend, brother and teammate, and almost grave sharer.

The moment he was conscious after their battle he knew that they should have been dead. There was so much power involved, immense amounts of chakra...  
They were attacking for the kill, but by some inconceivable reason, fate be damned, they both survived. Not only that, Sasuke had _finally_ accepted him, and the war was now over.

In the days following, funerals were held for all the dead, including Neji Hyuuga. He had done his best to comfort Hinata, who cried a lot that day... So much that she didn't even faint when he hugged her.

 _Hinata._

He didn't know what to do about the Hyuuga heiress.  
She had confessed to him during the fight with Pein, but since then he hadn't had the time to properly talk to her about it.

It was just never the right time.

War.

Death.

A lot got in the way of such things.

He wasn't sure what to make of her feelings.  
She said she _loved_ him  
She was the second girl to say that to him, but whether it was true or not remained to be seen.

Sakura's love confession to him previous to that was fake, and they both knew that. A desperate act to make him come home.  
Not an act of deceit, however, so he would never blame Sakura for that.

But Hinata... He had no idea.

Naruto sighed loudly and stood to stretch. He had been there for several hours, and with the sun setting like that, he needed to get back to the village.  
He dusted himself off and prepared to leave, but stopped.

He wasn't alone.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he sensed a chakra signature he didn't notice before. He was too deep in thought, it was careless but it didn't matter.

He knew now, and that was enough.

It was weak, but not weak enough to escape his notice. Without giving away his awareness, he let his eyes wonder the nearby vicinity to determine it's location.  
Looking down from the cliff face was when he saw it.

There was a body.

And it was in the same spot where him and Sasuke had woken.

With all his shinobi prowess he jumped from ledge to ledge toward the, from what he could tell from that distance, a female body.  
From the chakra she was giving off, she was injured. And with chakra that weak she was either close to death or a civilian.

 _But what would a civilian be doing here?_

He landed with a soft thud at the base of the cliff and ran up to the woman only to stop dead in his tracks.

He felt his heart stop.

She was so pretty.

It wasn't a woman, but a girl.  
A girl that looked the same age as he was.

Her skin was pale, either from her injuries or naturally he couldn't tell, but it looked soft, and in places where the sun would hit he noticed it was adorned with a light amount of freckles. Girls in Konoha didn't freckle like that, but on her it made her striking.  
Her hair was long and worn out with a few small braids noticeable and hidden within her chestnut coloured tresses. It looked so silky, and contrasted well with the deep forest green dress she wore, which hugged her petite curves in all the right ways.  
She had a plain face, but the long lashes attached to her closed eyes and the heavy concentration of freckles on her cute button nose made her far from it. She didn't need the make up she wore, in fact it looked out of place on her. It made him glad to see that whatever gloss her lips once had was long worn off and displayed a natural soft pink that made him sigh.

It was then that he noticed the heavily bruised split in her lower lip that his admiring ceased and his heart started up again, but for the wrong reason.

She was beaten up.

Along with the split lip, she was covered in bruises, with raw and deep-set purple ones around her wrists and neck.  
Her dress, which he concluded was a fairly exotic-looking formal dress, was torn and wrinkled, and had wet patches with darks stains and... _Egg shells?_

The poor girl even had her earrings ripped out.

 _Who would do this to you?_

When Naruto's breath returned to him he hurried over to her, and as he got close he confirmed it.

They were in fact egg shells.

He frowned heavily and checked her vitals.  
Her pulse was slow but strong, so she wasn't in any fatal danger there.  
Her breathing was slightly erratic, but that could be due to the pain he could be in. With that bruising, she's got to be...

 _She might have injuries I can't see._

He had to get her to Konoha.

But first he needed to at least try to wake her.  
Let her know that he was going to take her to a hospital, and if she stayed conscious long enough, _find out what lowlife did this..._

Gently, he placed his non-prosthetic hand on a less-bruised part of her shoulder and began to lightly shake her.

"Hime-sama," He called as he shook her, "Hime-sama, can you hear me? Open your eyes if you can hear me."

There was nothing, no response.

He shook her again.

"Hime-sama!" He said worriedly, voice raised this time.

For a few moments there was silence, and he could hear his own heartbeat in his chest.

Then she murmured.

Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. _Thank goodness..._

"Hima-sama, are you awake? Can you stand?"

Her eyes fluttered but didn't open, when she attempted to move her breath hitched.

"...everything...hurts..." Her soft voice managed to mumble.

"Everything is going to be okay now," Naruto reassured her, "I'm taking you to a hospital."

Before she could say more, he lifted her bridal style into his arms and began his assault towards Konoha.

As he leaped up the cliff and then from tree to tree he watched her, but she was so weak she looked like she would pass out again soon.

"Hime-sama, who did this to you?" He asked not really expecting an answer.

Her eyes fluttered once more and opened. Heavy-lidded she glanced up at him with the most amazing set of golden brown eyes he's ever seen and whispered sadly before passing out once again.  
With determination he leaped and ran faster, with the words echoing in his head and filling him with pain.

 _"I thought they were...my...friends..."_

 _~ • ~_


	2. Chapter 1--- not a fantasy

_"Home is behind you, the world is ahead."_  
 _\- Tolkien_

?

When Kaiya awoke she knew exactly where she was. This wasn't her first time in a hospital, and she knew it wouldn't be her last.

The sterile white walls, the oddly greenish beige curtains that would allow patients privacy, and the bleached white sheets that covered her body calmed her as she laid there. She was safe for now, but no doubt with the injuries she had people would be questioning her as soon as the staff found out she was awake.

Until then, all she could do was relax, wait, and possibly think about what she'll say when the questions _do_ start.

With her right hand, she reached down the side of the bed, feeling around for the buttons and switches that would adjust the bed so she could sit up. With the beating she took, she didn't want to even try to sit up by herself.  
But after a few moments of feeling around she found there was no buttons. Not even a leaver.

Odd.

Grimacing, she attempted sitting up on her own, only to find that it was ALOT easier to do so then she thought.

Sure her body hurt, but not the intense ache of bruising or sharp pains of broken bones.  
All she got was a dull generalised ache, the kind you got when sit or lay in the same position for too long.

 _That's weird... I was sure they at least broke my ribs..._

Looking down at herself, things got even stranger. Not only did she not have bruises, but she didn't even look injured. Not a single scratch.  
She fumbled around touching her arms, face, her thighs, getting more confused with every touch.

She was perfectly fine.

 _How long was I asleep._

That had to be the explanation. Clearly she just slept through the healing process. But that made things even more confusing.  
How long was she asleep for?  
Did she fall into a coma?  
Was she really so bad that sedation was be necessary?  
How much time had she wasted in this bed?

There was only one way to find out, and she was done waiting.

Kaiya began hastily looking around for a 'call nurse' button when she froze.

She was not alone in this hospital room.

In a chair just off to the side of her bed was a _very_ familiar teenage boy, dozing away without a care.

He was sitting upright, slightly slouched, with his head of blond unkept hair leaning against the wall behind him. His jet black t-shirt and this bright orange pants were wrinkled covered in dirt stains, looking like he had gone for a run and then just decided not to bathe or change. His black sandals not looking any better, caked with the same dirt and leaving it's filth on the floor beneath them.  
One of his arms was completely bandaged, fingers included, and his trademark jacket was hung over his armrest.

She let out the breath she was holding and tried to calm down.

Everything made sense now.

The lack of injuries, the hospital with no buttons, and the familiar whisker cheeked boy that was asleep at her bedside.

 _I must be dreaming._

That was it, she was dreaming.  
She was having an amazing dream starring Naruto Uzumaki.  
A dream where he saved her after her ordeal and then would kiss her followed by her ACTUALLY waking up and wishing it wasn't over so soon.

Yes, that had to be it.

Any minute now, he'll wake up, start gushing about how he saved her and that he deserved a kiss from the damsel in distress because only her dreams would be that corny.

Any minute now.

.

.

Maybe he just needed a nudge.

She stared at him and coughed loudly to get his attention.  
Instantly his cobalt blue eyes flung open and he sat up abruptly staring back at her. A small smile escaped his lips.

"Hime-sama, your finally awake," he sighed releved.

She scrunched her brows in confusion.  
 _Hime-sama? That's different..._

He stood up and cautiously made stepped toward the bed and sat down next to her knees.

"I'm Naruto, you probably don't remember me, but I found you at the border and you were really hurt so I brought you here," he explained gently, "Will you tell me your name?"

 _My name? It's my dream he should know my name. Okay brain I'll play along..._

"It's Kaiya," she replied.

"Kaiya," he repeated back, "No last name?"

 _You need my last name too?_

"Thomas, Kaiya Thomas," she said warily.

His smile grew to a wide grin.  
"I'm glad your okay, Kaiya Thomas."

She blushed slightly.  
"Thank you for finding me, Naruto."

"Your welcome," he said sincerely, "Now just sit tight, I'm just going to let the doctor know your awake, I'll be right back."

He then got up, dusted off his shirt a bit and walked out.

... _What._

What was that?  
He just left?  
Some dream this is.  
He was supposed to gush about and then kiss me. That's how these Naruto fantasy dreams work.  
Why did he leave?

She silently mused to herself while she waited. This dream of hers was not turning out the way she expected, or the way she wanted it to.  
Her self esteem must be even lower than normal if guys even ignored her in her dreams. Clearly this dream was not going to be a good one.

Sighing loudly, she brought her thumb to her mouth, closed her mouth over it and bit down hard. That would wake her up so she wouldn't have to see this dream through.

But nothing happened.

She felt the bite, and when she opened her eyes, she was still in the hospital room.

She didn't wake up.  
But biting her thumb always woke her up no matter what the circumstances.

Which meant one thing.

She... Wasn't... Dreaming...

Before she could freak out, Naruto waltzed in with a female medic-nin, completely unaware of her anxious self.

"Okay Thomas-San, now that your awake I need to ask you a few questions." She said dryly, but professionally.

"Sure." She answered quickly, trying to keep calm.  
She also realised she had neglected to think up what to tell the hospital staff.

"How old are you?" The medic-nin began, staring at her clipboard and writing something.

"Sixteen." Kaiya responded.

"Do you know where you are?"

"In hospital."

"Do you know where this hospital is?"

Kaiya glanced at Naruto, who was now shaking out his jacket.

"...Konoha." She guessed anxiously.

"Good, and do you know how you got here?"

 _That's what I would like to know._

"He brought me here." Kaiya stated while gesturing toward him.

The medic continued writing.

"And how did you receive your injuries?"

She stilled.  
Telling them of how she got her injuries would mean telling them that she's not meant to be here. She didn't know if that was a good idea.

"...I'd rather not say." She said sofly.

Miss medic-nin didn't even flinch, she made it seem like she was very much used to secretive patients.

Naruto however did not let it go unnoticed. He watched her with sad eyes while the medic-non ran some quick tests, checking her temperature and other vitals in silence while he stared. Kaiya didn't notice his gaze, she was to busy internally freaking out over the possibility being stuck in a manga or mulling over whether the narutoverse might actually be real and she's just gone dimension hopping.  
Either theory did bode well.

"Well, Thomas-San, just sign these papers and your free to be discharged. Since your new to Konoha, I'll schedule you an visit with the Hokage. Til then I suggest you get some food with Uzumaki-San, after three days of sleep I'm sure your body would appreciate it. An ANBU will fetch you when he's ready to see you."

Once the papers were signed Kaiya was left alone in the room with Naruto, who was now staring at his feet.

"Why didn't you tell the doctor what happened?" He asked sofly.

"I didn't know how to." She responded truthfully, not looking at him while picking at her cuticles.

Barely a moment passed before a calloused hand covered her own. She raised her head to his now a lot closer self and her cheeks heated at the proximity.

"You don't need to be afraid," he reassured, "Konoha is a safe place and no one would hurt you, not while I'm around."

He the brought his bandaged hand to join his and held both her hands gently. Being held by him was nice, she really did feel safe.

"I promise I will keep you safe, and I'm a man of my word." He said while giving her hands a light squeeze.

She gaped at him internally while trying to keep a straight face on the outside.

Naruto Uzumaki just casually decided to place her under his protection. _Her._  
He didn't know a thing about her, nor did he have any reason to protect her.  
And he gave his word.  
His nindo.

She didn't know how to respond to this.

He smiled wildly at her and removed his hands. He made his way towards the window and paused to look at her.

"Before we get food, we should clean up a bit. There's a bathroom through that door, go shower while I'm gone, I'll be back soon with clean clothes for both of us."  
He then stood on the window ledge and jumped.

She was still gaping at the open window for a few moments before she shook her head abruptly.

 _Toto, I think we're not in Kansas anymore..._

~ ? ~


	3. Chapter 2--- cool, calm and collected

_"_ _A day of worry is more exhausting than a weeks work."  
\- John Lubbock_

~ ҉ ~

 _A shower was a great idea_ , Kaiya thought to herself as the hot water ran against her skin. Mulling things over in the heat and steam always helped, most things easily fixed by scalding her flesh; that and letting anything else on her mind flow off her and get sucked up by the drain.

However, today's problem wasn't going to go away like the water.

Today's issue had her stuck, and she hated it.

After half an hour of thinking, panicking and pacing her hospital room after Naruto left, she had managed to calm herself down enough to come to a few conclusions.

First, she wasn't going to be home anytime soon. She didn't know how to, and doubted she would be able to get home without some serious meddling, and that brought her to her second conclusion. Timeline wise, it was post chapter 699, but nowhere near 700, and that she was sure of. How far past she wasn't sure, but the bandaged arm Naruto had given that away.

He didn't look much older than he did in the anime so it couldn't have been more than a few months, giving her a 15 year period in which she had little to no knowledge about; and that could be a blessing or a curse. The little she did know she couldn't meddle with, not without drastically changing everything. On the other hand, having little knowledge of current events would make her less noticeable. All she had to do was not mention the past and she could keep her anonymity; but that brought her to a final conclusion that she still had yet to figure out.

Naruto Uzumaki.

 _Naruto…_

Kaiya sighed audibly as she turned off the shower. Steam rose from her reddened skin, the cold now prickling at her with the loss of the heat source.

Wringing her hair out she pulled back the shower curtain, making slow, steady movements to avoid slipping. Feeling the cold tiles under her feet stung a bit, but was easy to ignore as she grabbed a nearby towel and began to dry herself. Perhaps a _warm_ shower would have been better. Everything was raw, and while the towel felt soft to the touch, the opposite was proving to be the case as each individual fibre within it scraped and pulled with the motions.

Again, it was easily ignored.

Once dry, she reached behind her for the hospital gown she had taken off. Feeling around she grasped the clothes and found that what she had was _not_ the gown she took off. Confused, she turned, discovering that not only was the scrubs she had previously worn were missing but that they were now replaced with roughly folded clothing. Lifting the first item, she examined it suspiciously before relaxing into a soft smile.

 _The idiot_ is _a ninja…_

Naruto had snuck in and left clothes for her without her even noticing. A rational person would be annoyed by the blatant lack of respect of boundaries and scream to high heaven about perversion, but she wasn't. The possibility of the jinchuuriki seeing her naked did briefly cross her mind but the thought was quickly dispelled. The curtains were thick enough that he wouldn't have seen much, and even if he did catch a glimpse, she doubted it would mean anything. This was real, much to her dismay, and only in her dreams did boys pay her any attention. _Well… any of the good kind of attention…_

She shuddered abruptly, shaking off what she'd rather not think of, and started dressing herself. He had brought her what she could only assume was an outfit from his own wardrobe, a navy blue cotton t-shirt with a bold crimson Uzumaki swirl on the front and back, as well as some basic tan cargo shorts; which only fit her thanks to her hips being slightly wider than his. She drowned in the shirt that was at least two-three sizes too big, but it was comfortable. Not much time had passed since he left them it seemed, it was still warm, and had a lingering earthy scent which suited him; along with a subtle undertone which she recognised as miso ramen. It was Naruto after all.

Now that she was dressed and dry, she left the bathroom and back into her hospital room, where he was waiting for her.

Naruto was glad he didn't raid Sakura's house for clothes. He did stop by briefly for shoes, there was no way his would fit this girls dainty feet, but after seeing her when she stepped out with her damp hair and his clothes covering her soft, pinked skin... even the kyuubi inside him was sighing, but also screaming for him to take her right where she stood.

He was thankful while dropping off the clothes he didn't give in to his latent perverted nature by peeking. If he had, it wouldn't have been just Kurama wanting her all to himself.

Thoughts like this plagued him as they walked through Konoha, but as much as she tormented his inner beast, he was a stranger to her. Just some random ninja who happened upon her in a venerable state. He needed to not be weird about this and freak her out before they were even friends. So he kept things casual and polite, with a small joke uttering past his lips every now and then.

He watched her take in the village landscape with each step, her eyes lighting up at the various markets that littered the streets and visibly sighing contently as a faint breeze echoed with the smells of the restaurant district up ahead.

He wasn't a mind reader, but he could tell that since they had left the hospital the promise of food stood out as the main topic on her mind even without voicing it.

That and the light rumbling sound she made five minutes ago that she pretended didn't happen.

"You have a beautiful village," she uttered lightly, breaking the short silence that had occurred. Naruto chuckled.

"It is, isn't it?" He regarded warmly, "All things considered, Konoha is recovering well."

She nodded in understanding, "I would have loved to see it at its prime."

"That won't take long, just last year this whole place was a crater, by this time next year it will be like it never happened," he beamed turning to face her once more.

It was a few moments before he let the words leave his mouth.

"What's your village like?"

Although Kaiya's face remained calm, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions, ranging from sadness to frustration, then pain, and a few he didn't recognise. Obviously home was a touchy subject.

"Not anything like here," she slowly worded out.

Naruto didn't press her any further. As much as he wanted to know everything about her, he didn't want her upset, which definitely would have been the case.

So far he had managed to avoid asking her about her injuries. The little information she had given him while delirious and the hesitancy she was giving today was worrying him.

He _had_ to know what happened and why.

This pride as a ninja and as a man demanded it, and surprisingly the kyuubi was equally curious. He wasn't sure if that was out of affection or bloodlust.

Despite that he needed to keep his head. Trust was earned, not freely given, and he had yet to prove himself. Her walls were thicker than steel, and there was no way he was going to get anywhere with her until he at least got past one.

One wall.

Just enough to get under her skin and past this detached civility.

He needed to change his tactics.

All thoughts ceased as he saw Ichiraku up ahead and picked up the pace.

Kaiya watched Naruto with equal amounts of disgust and fascination as he finished his fourth bowl of ramen, with no sign that he was going to be finished anytime soon.

Of course she knew that this what he was like. She knew everything about the strange ninja treating her to… breakfast? Lunch? She wasn't sure, and at this point she couldn't care less. But _knowing_ as apposed to _seeing_ it take place was something else.

In the time it had taken her to be halfway through the bowl she had ordered, Naruto was now almost finished his fifth.

"Where does it all go?" she asked, eyes narrowed.

Naruto beamed mid slurp as if complemented.

This irritated Kaiya further.

"You're going to make yourself sick," she stated simply.

He chuckled lightly raising a brow in her direction, "Says the one fresh out of hospital."

"If my health was still in trouble they wouldn't have let me leave," she said dryly, "so your concern is not needed."

"Needed or not, it is my 'concern'," Naruto eye rolled, "or did you forget my promise?" he teased.

"I forgot nothing," she assured.

"Then let me do my job…" he mumbled.

 _Just another mission huh…_

Kaiya sighed and continued eating; she wasn't going to argue any more than she needed to. All she wanted was to sit and enjoy his company so she would do just that.

She would not engage in trying to make her fantasies real for that was all they were.

She would not let any anxiety show.

She would not act suspicious in any way.

She would be respectful and well-mannered.

"…and don't get your panties in a twist."

Kaiya choked.

Naruto was in hysterics.

Once composed she glared at him darkly, the corners of her mouth pulling into a hard sneer. "And what makes you think you have _any_ effect on my panties?"

Finishing the last dregs of bowl number six, he calmly placed his empty bowl in the pile with the rest and set down his chopsticks. Naruto then turned to her with an impish grin and said two little words that made her seethe.

" _That did_."

His grin only got wider as her eyebrow twitched, all her self-control passing from her quickly. She wanted to yell and scream but her pride wouldn't let her. He was playing with her and it was working in his favour. Goading her to break her passive façade, and she let herself slip. He was riling her up on purpose… and he did it with one sentence.

 _What the hell is he doing to me…?_

"Not so cool-headed now are we?" he pestered.

 ** _'_** ** _Not so cool headed now are we?'_**

 ** _'_** ** _Oh look she does feel…'_**

 ** _'_** ** _You're so naïve.'_**

 ** _'_** ** _Freak!'_**

 ** _'_** ** _Pft, she's not even worth the effort."_**

 ** _'_** ** _Just kill yourself Kaiya.'_**

 ** _'_** ** _Kaiya!'_**

"Kaiya…?!"

Eyes widened, she refocused on the worried face of the shinobi holding her face. Her skin was cold, but Naruto's hands against her cheeks were warming her, breaking her out of her disarray. His eyes were fixed on hers as her breathing slowed, gradually becoming regular and matching with his every exhale. Kaiya held him tightly just below his wrists, her forefingers digging into him and her thumb nail curling and drawing blood.

A single tear fell and he brushed it away with his thumb. "Are you okay?" he asked calmly.

Kaiya blinked twice and let her eyes close. With a steady breath she released her grip, gently bringing her hands up to his and freeing her face. Opening her eyes on the second breath, she placed her hands in her lap, fully collected and in control.

At least on the outside anyway.

The only proof anything went wrong was her wet cheek and Naruto's unwavering stare.

"I'm fine, Naruto," she said calmly, bringing her attention back to her now cold noodles.

Glass shattered as the cup he was holding was destroyed.

"Like hell you are," he hissed back.

Before Kaiya could react properly, a wolf-masked ANBU appeared at their sides.

"Uzumaki-san, Thomas-san, the Hokage will see you now."

~ ҉ ~


	4. Chapter 3--- the masked man

_"_ _You can't know too much, but you can say too much."_

 _\- Calvin Coolidge_

~ ҉ ~

To say Kaiya was nervous would have been an understatement. She reeked with anxiety as she leant against the wall opposite the entrance to the Hokage's office.

As usual, her face kept up the illusion of calm in the presence of the ANBU that had brought her and Naruto here. Her face was easy to control, her heart hammering so hard she thought it was going to jump out her throat was out of the question.

Naruto had gone inside the office alone twenty minutes ago. The Hokage, according the Mr. Wolf-Mask on her left, wished to speak to them both _separately_. This wouldn't be a bad thing except that she still hadn't thought up her cover story yet.

If the timeline she believed she was in was accurate, it meant that the person behind that door was the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi wasn't easily fooled, he might not have the sharingan anymore, but he was still an S-Rank shinobi. Out right lying to the man would be a bad idea, no matter how much knowledge she had.

Knowledge really was her curse in this case.

Kaiya continued to wait and started picking at her cuticles. Glancing up she noticed in the corner of her eye that the ANBU agent was staring at her, or at least the mask was facing her direction.

"Is there something you wanted?" She asked with brows raised.

The ANBU turned his head back to facing the door, "Your scent is weird."

 _My what?_

"Excuse me?"

Her eyes narrowed at him as he turned back to face her, cocking his head to one side.

"Your scent," he responded, "it's weird, it screams _'I'm an outsider_ ' but whispers _'I belong here'_ , and it's odd."

She stared at him trying to make sense of his words. How can anybody smell something like that? More to the point, how and why was he smelling her? He wasn't even that close to her.

An idea sprang into her head and her mouth acted on impulse before she could think.

"Isn't a wolf mask a little too obvious for an Inuzuka?" She commented dryly.

They both tensed, both for different reasons. Him, she assumed, because she was right. He must be an Inuzuka. Which Inuzuka she wasn't sure, but with the height and body type this ANBU had it was hard to tell, but she had her suspicions. Regardless of who he was, she knew she had put her foot in it.

She had fucked up.

Just as Kaiya heard a slight growl erupt from the ANBU's chest, the Hokage's office door unlocked and opened.

Naruto walked out with his hands behind his head looking like the cat who caught the canary. He paused and briefly took in the light tension before making eye contact with Kaiya and beamed further.

"Go ahead," he gestured with his head.

Kaiya let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and steadily entered the room and shut the door behind her.

Naruto glared at the wolf-masked ANBU, "Really dog-breath? I could feel her fear the whole meeting."

The ANBU shrugged and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The Hokage's Office washed a sense of familiarity over Kaiya when she entered. It looked just like it did in the anime and manga, abet with a few differences.

The pale tan rounded walls, the light timber floors, and the odd green ceiling were all the same. Large photo frames with past Hokage's adorned the walls and the back windows had bamboo blinds pulled up showing the view of the village below. Under the windows was all book shelves, filled with paperwork and scrolls as well as various nick-knacks and ninja tools. The large desk with the yellow leaf symbol plaque was clear with only a small lamp at its corner. Sitting behind the desk in full Hokage robes minus the hat sat the man himself, his grey hair defying gravity and his focus glued to the Icha Icha book in his hand.

On her third step inside, he closed the book, placing it on his desk and looked up towards her.

Kakashi eye-crinkled, showing he must have been smiling under his mask, "So this is the stray Naruto brought home, Kaiya was it?"

"Yes, it's an honour to meet with you Hokage-sama," Kaiya bowed politely.

"Kakashi, please," he insisted, "Oh and don't pay any mind to Nara, as my assistant he will keep everything said here in confidence."

 _No way… not him…_

Kaiya turned around warily.

On her left just behind her next to the door, there was a small desk half the size of the Hokage's with a small shelf full of scrolls and thick tomes connected to it. The desk itself was covered with piles of what looked like mission scrolls; other scrolls laid open in the centre, varying in stages of completion. Sitting behind the desk, leisurely writing and stamping sat a ninja that Kaiya _really_ hoped to avoid while in Konoha.

Shikamaru Nara.

Of all the shinobi in this village, she had to come across him on her first day here. Trying to fool Kakashi was going to be hard enough. Fooling Shikamaru would be impossible; it would be easier teaching frogs to do flamenco, and that's regular frogs, not sage toads.

 _Whelp, there goes my anonymity._

The lazy genius barely raised his head to look at her, eyeing her with a bored expression. He yawned and tightened his dark ponytail while stretching then brushing off his jonin uniform. His gaze changed after that, from bored to slight interest as his eyes narrowed.

She had been staring for too long.

Kaiya whipped her head back around to face Kakashi, hoping she didn't just blow it all out of the water. She just needed to remain calm and ignore Shikamaru and get through this meeting without getting his attention.

She could do that.

She _would_ do that.

Turning her attention to the masked Hokage, she saw his eyes were passive. He pulled out a draw in his desk and grabbed a small scroll out of it and spread it out in front of him. After a few moments of skimming through it he spoke.

"So Kaiya, it says here that you spent three days in our hospital, and that Naruto had found you approximately 28 hours before that at the border in quite a state," he began, "The staff also stated that you denied them information regarding your injuries, why is that?"

Kaiya's eyes widened slightly, but quickly pacified. _Well, straight to the point…_

"It's not something I'm comfortable talking about." She said quietly.

Kakashi hummed lightly and directed his gaze to a section of the scroll, "' _Four rib fractures, punctured right lung, hairline collarbone fracture, bruised right kidney, bruising covering sixty-three percent of the epidermis, severe abdominal trauma, torn right and left earlobes…'_ Shall I go on? Even for a ninja, these injuries are nothing to scoff at," He said seriously, "And Naruto tells me that your _friends_ did this to you, though you were delirious at the time."

Kaiya stared at the floor sadly, she didn't realise she had told him anything. She didn't even know how she got here let alone being found.

He continued after a moment, "Your secrecy is a moot point. Trauma like that, _especially_ if it was done by someone you trusted, I can understand your hesitance. But that isn't what concerns me the most."

She raised her head to find herself locked in his focus. "The items found on your person when you arrived, along with the location you were found begs a lot of questions, the kind of questions that would suggest that you're not as you appear."

Before Kaiya could properly grasp the meaning in his words, he took something green out of the same draw he got the scroll and placed it on top of the scroll.

She could no longer keep her composure, she let her façade go as she saw what it was.

It was the purse that matched her prom dress.

Kakashi watched her for a minute before emptying the contents.

Out fell a packet of orange tick-tacks, the lipstick she wore that night, bobby pins, her iPhone, its charger, cordless headphones and a small art book. Kaiya didn't understand how this made her suspicious, but she guessed some of those things did seem strange in this world.

Kaiya was about to try and explain herself before Kakashi interrupted her.

"You have two choices, allow us access to your memories via a Psycho Mind Transmission jutsu," he paused, "Or tell us everything now, and don't try to lie, both Nara and I will know immediately."

Kaiya knew she'd be had. There was no way she could talk her way out of this.

Either way she was going to be meddling in this world and changing it. She would not remain anonymous. She knew too much, and in a world full of shinobi, her knowledge could have her killed, by any of the great nations. Her memories were too valuable.

At the same time, she couldn't talk about what happened. She had already had one panic attack that day and she didn't fancy another. Also without knowing how she got here she would still seem suspicious. Really she only had one choice, but she needed more clarification.

"Who would perform the Jutsu?" she asked quietly.

In a heartbeat Kakashi answered her, "To make you more comfortable, if you were to choose that option, we have a konoichi called Ino Yamanaka on standby."

She winced, the gossip queen of Konoha was _not_ someone who should be trusted with her knowledge.

"As the Copy-ninja, you know many Jutsu's, do you know this one?"

"I do."

She took a deep breath. "I will undertake the Jutsu, it's too painful to talk about what happened to me," Kaiya paused, "But only if _you_ perform the Jutsu."

Kakashi raised a single brow at her. He watched her for a few moments, seeming to be looking for something. After an eternity long minute passed he stood and walked around the desk towards her.

He was tall compared to her, and his presence was intimidating as he stood in front of her. Another moment passed and he gently placed a hand on her head.

"Very well." Said Kakashi in a serious tone, before making a few signs with his other hand and closed his eyes.

Kaiya had braced herself expecting some slight pain or perhaps a feeling of being invaded but found she felt nothing. All she felt was Kakashi's grip on her forehead, firm but steady.

His eyes were closed when she looked up at him. At first she thought the jutsu had failed, but noticed the rapid movement under his eyelids; it was like he was dreaming.

She wandered how the Copy-nin would react after seeing inside her head, and also how much he would see before breaking himself out. From what she could remember about this jutsu, the user would see a day per few seconds, at this rate, he was going to see at _least_ a month back, possibly more if he doesn't-

Kakashi abruptly releases his hand and staggers back slightly, his eyes wide.

-stop.

Kaiya's gaze was locked with his. Anxiety quickly grew within her, his silence was deafening as he stared at her with a calculating expression.

"Shikamaru, leave us," Kakashi uttered finally.

She could feel Shikamaru watching her and used all of her will power to not turn around. His curiosity was spiked enough, she didn't need to egg it on further.

It was a few moments before she heard him leave and shut the door behind him, allowing her to feel like it was safe to breathe, for now anyways.

Kakashi took a step back and sat on the edge of his desk, sighing deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He no longer looked at her, rather choosing to stare at the ceiling with furrowed brows.

Again he was leaving her standing there in silence.

"Hokage-sama…?"

She had to break the tension in the air. She didn't care what he did at this point. Kaiya was used to being treated like she was invisible, but there was no way in hell she was going to let him treat her this way, not when he had intimately accessed her mind.

Kakashi suddenly chuckled as if he knew her annoyance. He faced her again, eyes crinkling and slouched, "A woman who has seen my face doesn't need formalities." He revered warmly, all while removing his mask showing a crooked smile, "Of all the things I expected to find, nothing came close to that."

Shock marred her features as she half gaped at him. His face in person was incredible, both the anime and the manga didn't do it justice.

She shook her head and snapped out it, now was not the time to gawk at the Hokage.

"How much did you see?" she asked cautiously.

He frowned mirthless, "Enough," he murmured. Straightening his posture he stood slowly, "The incident…" he took a step, "…the events leading up…" another step, Kaiya's face fell, there was no looking at him now.

She stared at his feet for a few moments before she felt him place a hand on her shoulder. A shaky breathe escaped her lips and her vision blurred.

"…And the inner workings of a girl who loves this world more than her own."

Kaiya didn't know how to act. She didn't know which shamed her more, her behaviour or the naked feeling she had. She knew he would see, she knew the results, but having him stand there… him knowing her thoughts, dreams… nightmares… she shut off. No protection was left now.

The worst part of all this, was the realisation that after one peek inside her head, this man knew her better than anyone ever has. She never felt more alone than she did at this moment.

~ ҉ ~


	5. Chapter 4--- princesses slumber

_"_ _They've promised that dreams can come true, but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams too."_

 _\- Oscar Wilde_

~ ҉ ~

The meeting with Kakashi ended not long after that. A few brief questions were exchanged and other pleasantries before he sent me on my way.

We both agreed that my origins were to remain a secret. In the wrong hands my memories could give any of the great nations tactical advantages, not to mention detailed descriptions of various shinobi.

She could very well be the first civilian added to a bingo book.

He expressed that he would research her case himself, and that until a means for her to go home was found she would stay here in Konoha. Thanks to a rather persistent Naruto, before her talk with the Hokage even took place he had already established that she would stay with him, since his newly built apartment had a spare room.

That's where they were headed now.

She thanked whatever deity out there that the shorts she wore had plenty of pocket to hold the contents of the purse. She didn't want to keep the bag, just looking at it wasn't pleasant. Still, the art book she held felt heavy in her hand as they walked side by side, street by street.

"Did Kakashi-sensei say something to upset you?" Naruto asked softly.

She regarded him silently before finally responding, "No he didn't, what gave you that idea?"

"It's written all over your face, Kaiya," he stopped in his tracks, "Something happened in that room."

She stopped too and let her nose scrunch up slightly. How could it be evident on my face? She was in control right now. The tears she shed in that room had long since dried up and her guard was back up, there was no way her expression should be telling him anything. She forced an easy-going smile and turned to him.

"Nothing happened, your imagining things."

He frowned, "I'm not imagining anything, especially after a smile like that."

Her face remained passive as she continued in the direction they were headed. She barely made three steps before he blocked her path.

"Your mask is nowhere near as good as you think it is," he said seriously with a slight glare.

She glared back.

"Let me pass."

"No."

"Move."

"Nope."

"Damn it Naruto, just let me through!"

"Can't let you do that."

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because my apartment is right here!"

She paused and looked up at the humble building. It looked fairly new but with industrial undertones. Figures he would live here.

She sighed loudly and pursed her lips, "Lead the way then."

He nodded and proceeded toward the entrance, with Kaiya following a few steps behind. She decided to change the subject before he questioned her further.

"Why Hime-sama?" She asked as they made their way up a flight of stairs.

"What?" He half-stuttered, he must not have been paying attention.

"In the hospital when I woke up, you called me Hime-sama," she pressed.

"Oh yeah," his smiled, "What about it?"

She stumbled a little almost missing a step, "I just want to know why you called me that."

"It suited you," he stated matter-of-fact.

"I'm no princess," she frowned.

"Sure you are," he beamed, "I couldn't call someone as pretty as you anything less."

Kaiya's face changed colour real fast, this idiot has no tact.

She stayed silent after that, not feeling up for anymore embarrassment. She didn't have long to think on that phrase before he stopped again.

"Alright, home sweet home," he muttered as he unlocked the numbered door. He walked straight in and left the door open for her to follow right after.

Naruto's apartment was reminiscent of his old place with muted yellowish beige walls and hard timber floors. The furnishings were simple and functional with tones ranging from dark greens to earthy browns. The kitchenette was modest and surprising clean, she was almost impressed… if she hadn't of seen the coffee table covered in empty ramen cups that were starting to sink up the place a bit.

The shelving's were cluttered, filled with roughly rolled scrolls and books with creased spines, as well as a complete set of Icha Icha. The walls had various framed photos of the Konoha 11 and his Team 7, some serious and others with stupid faces.

His home was welcoming, and she felt relaxed for the first time that day.

It had taken Kaiya a few moments to realise that Naruto had still be talking to her while she had been taking in her new surroundings.

"…and behind that door is the bathroom," gesturing systematically, "This one's my room, and this here is where you will be staying," he smiled lightly opening a door next to the room he just dubbed 'his'.

Stepping into the room I immediately noticed that this room was different to the rest of his place. The earthy colours were non-existent, replaced with shades of deep indigo and shale. The walls remained the same as the rest of the apartment, but the bedding and curtains reflected the change as well as the almost black wooden wardrobe and desk. This room wasn't like Naruto at all.

"Naruto, did this room belong to someone?" she uttered walking around the room.

He leant against the door frame, "Yeah, I had set this place up for someone who was going to be my roommate."

She nodded understanding and opened the wardrobe while he continued, "He barely stayed a few days before he left to travel, and that was about a month ago now. Anything he left behind feel free to use, he's going to be gone awhile so if it's here, he didn't need it."

She was about to ask who it was before pulling out a shirt boldly displaying a family crest.

The _Uchiha_ family crest.

 _This room was meant to be Sasuke's?_

"You sure he won't mind?" she asked unconvinced.

"Positive!" he exclaimed as Kaiya let herself fall back onto the bed.

She sighed contently letting herself sink into the dark sheets. She had barely been awake for a few hours but she was already exhausted, more mentally then physical. There was a lot to take in and process. Kakashi wanted her to rest and not to stress, so she would try.

Kaiya had allowed her eyes to close for a few moments before she opened them widely feeling weight on the bed above her.

She rolled her head back to find Naruto spread out horizontally on the bed with his legs over the side, his shoulder fitting comfortably next to her left cheek and his head hardly an inch above hers. In her worn-out state, she merely let her eyes close once more, and her cheek closed the gap.

Naruto watched her has she fell into her slumber. He had long since rolled onto his stomach, not wanting the peace to lull him into sleep as well.

Holding himself up on his elbows, he lent over her and placed a chaste kiss at her hairline, "Sleep well, Hime-chan."

~ ҉ ~

 ** _'_** ** _The lead of her pencil etched furiously as the image came alive on the paper, all with a sense of delicacy and haste. The chlorine in the air and the warmth of the sun erode at her skin reminding her to finish up soon, their team practice would be over in not too long, and she wanted to be finished and long gone by that point._**

 ** _Looking back up towards the Olympic size outdoor pool a few metres away from her she watched and continued to sketch silently. The way the light reflected on the clear water, the intensity of the toned and muscular bodies breaking the surface with each dive... It was breath taking. Not that she let it show._**

 ** _Her head bent back down towards her sketch as she did the final touches, five more minutes was all she needed. Five more minutes and it would be like she was never there._**

 ** _"Looks like I caught you this time, you're starting to lax with your stealth."_**

 ** _She snapped up horrified to find the very person she had been sketching right in front of her, shirtless and fresh out of the pool._**

 ** _Drops of water fell from his drenched auburn curls as he shook them out of his emerald eyes. He smirked at her amused as he gently grasped the sketchbook from her and began flicking through the pages._**

 ** _"You didn't catch me doing anything," she spat dryly, "I like to draw and the water is a good muse, so sue me."_**

 ** _She stared at him impatiently, reaching for her precious book._**

 ** _"Are you done? You're going to get them wet."_**

 ** _His grin turned roguish as he eyed a page near the middle and chuckled, "Sure, you can have it back, but I think I'll keep this one, a memento of the day I caught you out," he expressed humorously as he tore the page out._**

 ** _"Hey you're going to ruin it!" She hissed angrily, almost ripping the book from his clutches. That only made his smile wider._**

 ** _"You will ruin it if you yank at it like that," he sniggered raising the book above his head._**

 ** _She huffed annoyed and stood, arms straining, trying desperately to reach up. He was just too tall, and she was too short to do anything about it._**

 ** _Gasping she was suddenly pressed against him, her uniform getting damp from his slick naked chest and heat rose up her neck to her cheeks._**

 ** _His other hand lightly held the small of her back as his eyes bore into hers and she found herself having trouble breathing. His face moved closer to hers with his lips almost touching her ear._**

 ** _"Not so cool headed now are we?" He whispered, his breath sending a chill down her spine._**

 ** _He lent back and winked, letting the book fall to her out-stretched hand and stepped back from her personal space._**

 ** _"Stick around after next practice, yeah?"_**

 ** _She closed the book and held it to her front._**

 ** _"Yeah."'_**

~ ҉ ~

Kaiya awoke and bolted upright, eyes wide and her body coated with a light layer of cold sweat.

She was alone, and it was dark, with nothing but the moonlight coming in from the window to light up the room. Like the amount of light really mattered to her at this point.

What did matter was the clothes she was wearing were suffocating her, and she needed to get out of them.

Right then and there.

Kaiya hurled herself from the bed, ripping the clothing from her body and tossing them in all manner of directions. When she was down to nothing but her panties she could finally breathe.

She stood there breathing deeply, trying to calm herself and bring her shaky breath to normal. There was no way she was sleeping more tonight, sleep was out of her control and out of her hands. She was nothing without that.

Letting out one last deep breath, she tore open the wardrobe and started to rummage. She hoped she could find a shirt _without_ a crest on its back. A small smile graced her lips when she found a large black shirt that was perfect.

The soft cotton warmed her skin as it slid over her torso, fitting her more like a dress then a shirt. She supposed that would do until morning when she could raid Naruto's draws, everything in here was loose fitting and needing multiple knots and ties to keep everything on place.

It was only once she was clothed that she felt something was off, she couldn't put her finger on it but it was bothering her none the less.

It was only after the silence was broken when she figured out what that was.

"Are you decent now? Troublesome woman… it's not normal to spontaneously strip when you wake up."

She froze, and her head slowly turned towards the _very_ familiar voice.

There, hidden amongst the shadows by the window, stood Shikamaru, his eyes half hidden with his hand and a dry expression embellishing the rest of his face.

Her breath was caught in her throat again.

.

Shikamaru Nara had broken into Naruto's apartment.

.

Shikamaru Nara had been in here as she slept.

.

Shikamaru Nara had seen her in nothing but her panties.

~ ҉ ~


	6. Chapter 5--- suspicious minds

_"_ _Listen with one ear, be suspicious with the other."  
\- Laotian proverb_

~ ҉ ~

He was on cloud nine.

Nothing substantial had really happened, but it was progress, and he was relishing in it.

Naruto laid awake in his room several hours after Kaiya had fell asleep in the crook of his neck, and even less since he dragged himself away from her side. It killed him to leave her alone in there, but he didn't want to push his luck. Just because she fell asleep easily with him there, didn't mean she would be okay with his presence when she woke up.

He would take that in his stride. In a few short hours he was getting to her, and the more he stoked at her hidden fire, the closer he got to getting over that initial wall. It was only a matter of time.

Now he just had keep the kyuubi in check, as well as his hormones.

It didn't help that her scent hadn't left him yet, and it was intoxicating.

The shoulder she slept against had absorbed her breath, and he had never loved the smell of tangerine so much… or was it oranges?

He wasn't sure, but that, plus the subtle spiciness of the ramen they had… words didn't, no, _wouldn't_ come to him.

No words, but words meant nothing without actions.

Naruto continued to lay there and soon became close to sleep. His heavy eyelids dropped and his muscles relaxed. He was beginning to doze…

…or at least he was until he heard movement in Kaiya's room.

He slowly sat himself up on his elbows and listened carefully. At first he heard nothing, just some light rustling and footsteps. He assumed Kaiya must have woken up, did she need something? Would it be okay for him to check on her? Was she looking for him?

He was about to decide when his blood ran cold.

Kaiya had screamed.

He was at her door seconds later.

He threw himself into the room in a panic only to find Kaiya missing. The bed empty, sheets ruffled, the shirt he lent to her at his feet, as he picked it up, it was drenched in sweat. The window was open, moonlight filling the room, standing next to the window was a wincing Shikamaru.

Naruto furrowed his brows, "Shika? What the hell are you-" he started before settling into a low snarl. The shorts she was wearing before were crumbled at his feet, his eyes were red in an instant.

" _Shikamaru_ ," he growled, "What. Did. You _. Do_."

Shikamaru glanced down at his feet before immediately raising both his hands, "Cool it Naruto, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."

Naruto chuckled mirthlessly and began skulking towards Shikamaru.

"'Reasonable?!' You broke into my apartment in the middle of the night, Kaiya is gone, and her clothes are at your feet, how the fuck is that 'reasonable?!'" he shrieked, pinning the lazy nin, "I'll only ask this once more, what did you do to her?!"

"I did _nothing_ to her." Shikamaru glared pushing Naruto away, him landing onto the bed, leaching with chakra and killing intent.

"First of all," Shikamaru began dryly, "I came to see you, and this window was the only one unlocked, I didn't break in. Second of all, she's in there," he gestured towards the wardrobe, "Troublesome woman, she screamed and hid once she realised I was in here."

Calming only marginally, Naruto stood, "And this?" he said, holding up the shirt.

"The reason she screamed." he smirked, "Seems the girl has a stripping problem."

"What?"

"She woke up, and ripped off all her clothes."

Naruto pondered this for a moment. He was suddenly regretting leaving to sleep in his room.

" _All_ of them?"

Shikamaru's smirk grew to a shit-eating grin.

"Enough to-"

 _"_ _I wasn't naked!"_ a muffled voice spoke.

Both Shikamaru and Naruto's attention was now fully on the wardrobe.

 _"_ _Please stop talking about me like I'm not here,"_ she said softly, _"I've had enough embarrassment."_

Naruto sent Shikamaru one final glare before stepping towards the wardrobe. Despite his anger and jealousy, Kaiya was more important at this moment. He could kill Shikamaru later.

"Are you… are you okay, Kaiya?" Naruto said warmly, placing a hand against the wooden door. He could feel her faint chakra signature flaring with so many conflicting emotions, emotions he could relate too.

It was a few moments of silence before she answered, _"I'm fine, don't worry."_

"If you're okay then come out, I'm sure Shika is sorry," he said sending another small glare the shadow nin's way, "I'll hold him down if you wanna hit him."

More silence, _"He didn't see anything special, he just surprised me is all."_

Naruto looked to Shikamaru and mouthed _'how much did you see?'_

Shikamaru stared at him, picked up the shorts at his feet and pointed at the shirt that was still in his hand, _'you really have to ask?'_

Naruto was perplexed. Neither of them were lying… but yet…

She didn't freak out when he had snuck in while she showered to leave her new clothes.

He never peeked, but most girl would have made that assumption. So either she was super trusting, which her behaviour showed was unlikely, or… _she really felt her body was nothing special…_

"Nothing special huh…" he mumbled cynically, "Then why hide?"

Nothing but more silence.

Naruto didn't know who to me madder at, Shikamaru for what he saw, or Kaiya for her ignorance. Did she not believe him earlier?

His fingers curled around the doorknob, letting out a momentary exhale readying himself to see whatever state she would be in. Even if she was mostly bare in there, he would not let it affect him. He had seen nude women before, thanks to his late master Jiraiya, so he could handle it. He was a shinobi, he _would_ handle it.

 _"_ _I hid… because he saw past the skin…"_

His hand fell.

 _"…_ _I was just caught off guard… I'll come out when I'm ready."_

Naruto sighed, he would need to deal with Shikamaru before he could talk things out with her. If he opened that door now, she would react similar to how she reacted to the lazy idiot that was still here. Her mask would be up, and her walls reinforced, but he had a better chance with that then he did right now. For her to trust him, he had to show her some first.

"Okay, I'll come check on you after I talk with Shika." He said, motioning to said ninja to follow him.

He made his way towards the rooms exit, taking one last glance back before crossing the threshold and letting the door close.

.

Naruto glared at Shikamaru as they both sat on opposite ends of his couch.

"This better be important, thanks to _you_ I'm back to square one with her," Naruto huffed, "Talk fast, we have training in few hours and I'd like to get some sleep in first."

Shikamaru stretched, "Something's not right about her," he said in his usual bored tone.

"Enough about Kaiya, why'd you come to see me?"

" _She_ is the reason I came, Naruto," Shikamaru eye rolled and folded his arms. He turned the whole top-half of his body, facing Naruto directly, taking on a serious tone and stance. "She's suspicious."

It was Naruto's turn to eye roll this time, "The hell you talking about?"

"You would understand if you saw what happened when she was in that office."

"Well I _wasn't_ there Shikamaru, so how about you educate me?"

Naruto was getting annoyed now. What was his problem? What was his beef with Kaiya? It's not like him to be like this.

Shikamaru leant his shoulder against the couch, arms still tightly folded and his head tilted towards the ceiling. It was times like this when his attitude could got on Naruto's nerves.

"We all initially suspected something was strange about her when you first brought her in. ANBU were sent to where you found her and they didn't find much of anything. No one else had been there other than you, and it's obvious that whatever happened to her wasn't done to her there. She was dumped there, but the evidence suggests she appeared out of thin air," he explained and paused before looking back at him, "But you already knew that."

"Get to the point, Shika." Naruto sighed.

His eyes narrowed before he continued, "When I received her medical report and her release papers, I noticed she didn't sign them properly. She didn't use characters, she just scribbled along the dotted line," he reached into his pocket, "I thought perhaps she was illiterate, but then I looked closer and found within the nonsense _was_ some characters, just not any that made sense," he pulled out whatever he had been searching for, "The characters found on this device match the ones in her signature, after three days with the ciphers, they could make no sense of the language on here and had made no progress in trying to translate it, even with my assistance."

Shikamaru was holding the object that looked like a tiny, flat, rectangular TV and spent a few moments touching and poking at the screen, then proceeded to hand it over to him.

Naruto started at the strange device. It really was like a small TV, but it reminded him more of a miniature version of the databases found in Otagakure. On the screen seemed to be paragraphs of text, mixed with symbols that looked like faces and other colourful shapes, and a background made to look like notepaper.

"It kinda reminds me of Sakura's diary," Naruto murmured, "Owning advanced technology and knowing a foreign language isn't a crime." He said to Shikamaru in a dry tone similar to his. "What are you trying to tell me, Shikamaru?"

"I was getting to that," he grated, sighing once again. He held out his hand and Naruto reluctantly returned the mini-database.

"Man, your troublesome… Anyways," he articulated, pocketing it once more, "After your meeting with Kakashi and she entered the office, her body language and her chakra subtly changed. She gave of a sense of familiarity, like she had been there before, but not recently, since she still examined the room like most people do in a new environment. I originally shook it off as coincidence, she might have been in a Kage's office before, they do look similar in most of the nations…" his tone went serious again, "However, when our esteemed Hokage made my presence known, she froze up, and looked at me with recognition in her eyes."

"You know her?" Naruto asked surprised.

"No, I've never met the woman, but she definitely knew me… and I mean _really_ knew me, like she knew everything about my being." He inhaled, "Weirdly enough, she choose to go under the Jutsu, and I thought we had her, at least until Kakashi sent me out and spoke to her alone after performing the Jutsu himself."

"You're overreacting, if she was a danger to us Kakashi wouldn't have let her stick around."

"You say that now, but you haven't even heard the strangest part," he retorted.

"Try me," Naruto spat.

Shikamaru straightened and locked his gaze with Naruto's, and gave an expression like he was going to drop a bomb. With that he said next, he might as well have.

"When I came back in, Kakashi's mask was down."

Naruto thought his eyes were going to snap out of his face.

"WHAT?!"

Naruto didn't believe it. It was so unlike him, and he had known Kakashi for years. He was his sensei, a close comrade, and teammate. None of Team 7 or Team Kakashi had ever seen him with his mask down, and they had spent a good amount of time trying to find out what lay hidden there. What had Kaiya done to convince him to show her his face? And Shikamaru got to see his face too?!

As if reading my mind, Shikamaru spoke once more, "I wish I was joking, Ino has been on my back all afternoon trying to get a detailed description."

Naruto respired deeply, he would interrogate him on this at a later date, "I still don't think she's dangerous, she just a civilian."

"I'm just saying she has something to hide, I don't know what it is yet but I will find out. I don't trust her."

He abruptly stood and placed the mini-database on the coffee table in front of him before walking towards the door. He opened the front door, but before leaving he turned towards Naruto once more.

"Return it to her. If you really think she's harmless, then gaining her trust and working on getting that thing translated should be no problem," he faced the exit again and stepped into the doorframe, "See you at training." He uttered quickly before shutting the door behind him.

~ ҉ ~

.


End file.
